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Monday, October 31, 2011

7 Famous Brands That Use QR Codes For Marketing and Brand Awareness

Recently   I am coming  across very often with many tweets, comments, blog and forum posts about how  QR codes suck and how ineffective they are in terms of marketing and brand awareness. These tweets especially come from so called “social media guys” and “marketing gurus” which makes me to chuckle a bit and shake my head! So you’ve probably heard of them or have seen them as well: that  little squares made up of various black and white boxes. The first QR code was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994. Back then nobody could imagine that as soon as in around 15 years this invention will cause a real marketing boom all over the world. The use cases of QR Codes are a lot and every day new and new companies are involving them in their marketing  strategies. Below are presented 7 internationally  famous brands which also use QR Codes as their smart business marketing tools:

1) International betting exchange company, Betfair, used the opportunity to strategically place their QR Code on players'… uniforms at the Test London 2012 beach volleyball tournament! That part of the uniform commands attention and the audience could capture the codes on their smartphones and be directed to the Betfair website.














2) Back in 2010, Calvin Klein replaced three of its billboards — two in downtown New York and one on Sunset Boulevard in LA — not with another racy montage of scantily clad models, but with a bright red QR code under the words “Get It Uncensored.” If you scanned the Calvin Klein QR Code it would take you to a Calvin Klein “racy” movie.















3) 2011 Ford Explorer magazine used QR Code with Kevin Hart.



















4) Tissot Models Wearing QR Code Shirts at MotoGP Race




5) American Heart Association QR Code Kroger sign! After you scan the QR Code you’re sent to the American Heart Association local information mobile site.





















6) Starbucks thinks seriously to increase coffee sales via QR code campaign. The company has placed the QR codes in its locations all over the U.S. Users can also find the mobile bar codes in magazines such as People, in newspapers and on outdoor ads in major U.S. cities. When consumers scan the QR codes, they are redirected to a mobile landing page where they can watch a video on Starbucks’ Caffe Verona blend.














7) Luxury Travelers Scan Porsche’s QR Codes Printed On Airplane Tickets
Porsche has teamed up with various airlines to print QR codes on the back of boarding passes. Passengers who scan the 2-D barcodes via their mobile devices will be directed to a customized page promoting the latest Porsche models featuring videos and other information about the luxury cars.














Conclusion
When creating a QR code strategy and generating your own QR Code, be sure to consider each customer touch point. Identify where your target market exists and the best way to communicate with them. Placement is key, so understand your audience’s mindset when they scan your code and how you can tailor your message to meet them where they already are.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Top 5 Most Traded Commodities in The World

When economists say commodities, they mean goods for which there is demand, butcommodity-trading which are supplied without qualitative differentiation across the market. Commodities are usually produced by a large number of companies around the world. Lumber, oil, sugar and electricity could all be considered commodities, while Levi's jeans would not be, as consumers consider them to be distinct from jeans sold by other firms.
There are a great number of both agricultural and industrial commodities now being traded in the commodities market. And here is the list of top 5 most traded commodities in the world:
1. Crude Oil
Crude oil or also known as petroleum is the term for ‘’unprocessed’’ oil, the stuff that comes out of the ground, which  is in fact the most traded commodity in the world.  Territories in the Middle East export 58% of all crude petroleum. Saudi Arabia exports over twice the US dollar value of any other territory, measured in net terms. The United Arab Emirates has the highest per person export earnings from crude petroleum. Other important exporters of crude oil are Norway, Venezuela, Nigeria and Mexico.
2. Coffee
kopi1Amazingly   coffee is the second most  traded commodity in the world. It is estimated that 1.6 billion cups of coffee are drunk worldwide everyday! It is produced in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa and the main consumers are United States and Europe. Today Brazil is responsible for about a third of all coffee production, making it by far the heavyweight champion of the coffee-producing world. Indonesia and its archipelago is most notable as the world’s largest producer of robusta beans, which is my favorite one. Smile
3. Natural Gas
Natural gas is traded a lot because it is the only thing used everywhere from cooking to heating water in winters. It has a volatile marketing style because of its price fluctuation. Russia is the largest exporter of natural gas. It is interesting to note that Canada is the second major exporter followed by Norway. The world’s largest proven natural gas reserves are in Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
4. Gold
The fourth most traded commodity in the world is gold. It has always been valuable, the reason is may be the beautiful color or maybe it is rare,  for many women may be it’s the important part of them  or anything else. Additionally, to inform you South Africa no longer holds the title of the world’s largest gold producer. Currently China is the world’s top gold producing country. Next goes Australia.
5. Brent Oil
Brent oil is the second most traded oil in the market after crude oil, and 5th most traded69198Brent oil prices increase commodity in the list. This oil is basically taken from the North Sea and Norway and areas like Europe and Africa use Brent oil more as compared to crude oil. It is used to price two thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil supplies. According to the CIA World Factbook estimate for 2010 the world consumes about 87 million barrels of oil each day.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fads or Trends?

untitledDo you know what do blogs,  tattoos, Rubik's cube, and H1N1 Swine Flu have in common? Well, they all are fads! That handled pet game called Tamagotchi was also a fad, when the player was given the task of raising a pet to good health throughout its life and attend to its needs, such as feeding it, cleaning up its excrement, punishing Tamagotchi or I don’t know. Did you played that game? Smile I remember all my friends once where so damn involved in that. Or, do you remember about Swine flu or so called H1N1? Back in 2009 seemed everyone was speaking about it, and then suddenly all rumors about it were forgotten and life continued to go on.

A fad is something that seems to appear suddenly. It quickly becomes enormously popular, and then disappears just as suddenly as it came. Mostly word of mouth is used to bring people in to try it or to create a buzz around it! Although trend is also characterized to appear very suddenly, it’s not considered to disappear. At a first glance they often may resemble each other and seem like they are the same. For every  marketer or businessman who are trying to build a business over the long term, it’s very important to know the difference between fad and trend. It can save a lot of money, as well as credibility in case you don’t jump into every fad and start to chase it too quickly. 

tech-trends-mobileCV_100614As mentioned above the first main difference between fad and trend is sustainability- fad appears  and disappears suddenly and trend  can have a long-term influence on its particular market. Secondly, another  difference between fad and trend is their usage in different industries. Fad, as  a rule becomes particular in one industry. Tamagotchi, for example is a game: people play it, have fun and that’s all about that. When it comes to cell phones or portable devices their trend overcame just the  the cell phone or portable device industry. Fashion, wireless communication, photography have their big role in cell phone or portable device production.  People buy cell phones that match the latest clothes fashion, have good quality camera with some extra features or have wireless connection access. Cell phones are trends! P.S. the new iPhone 5 is going to be launched today on October 14!

Fads and trends become integrated into our lives very quickly. No doubt, using a fad can bring you  a quick money, but that’s not for large companies and those who’re trying to  have long-term business. The thing is that these businesses simply can not afford to be wrong. Instead, these companies follow trends. The trick to this  is to get aboard at the right time. The key to that is good information sources. The first and the main recommendation to all marketers and businessmen is to  read and listen. Yes, read and listen!